Holcombe
Holcombe maps (2 available)
Map of Devon
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
Personalised maps
Create an historic map centred directly on any postcode!
Holcombe books (8 available)
Holcombe memories
Read and share memories of Holcombe and Devon inspired by Frith photos
Be the first to add a memory of Holcombe.
You can also read memories of nearby places in Devon below.
Devon memories
Music and clog morris dancing on the promenade at Teignmouth
One summer evening in July I met my music and dancing friends on the promenade at Teignmouth to play my piano accordian for the Heather and Gorse Clog Morris dancers.
It was a cool but dry evening with few holidaymakers about but as soon as the dancers began their entertainment it took only a few minutes for the promenaders to stop to watch and gradually form a crowd around us. I particularly remember two families from Ireland as their children just loved to dance alongside us and joined the band with some of our spare instruments. Their parents snapped away with cameras to record the kiddies' fun! They had never seen any clog morris dancing before and were ...read more here
A memory of Teignmouth contributed by John Howard Norfolk
Teignmouth Folk Festival
A weekend long folk festival in June attracted crowds of spectators to the street entertainments around Teignmouth and also to the concert performances in the Carlton Theatre.
Many of the entertainers were morris dancers performing at the Teignmouth Triangle. One of the "morris sides" at the festival was Heather and Gorse - a Devon based clog dancing group with dances and tunes from the north west of England. They looked very smart with their shiny black clogs stepping out the rhythm of the lively jigs and polkas played by their band.
There were several venues around the town set aside for music and dancing so this special tenth anniversary folk festival was a happy and succesful ...read more here
A memory of Teignmouth contributed by John Howard Norfolk
Heather and Gorse Clog Dancers entertain at Teignmouth Triangle
There is a beautiful wide paved area at Teignmouth Triangle which is a natural focal point to meet people and maybe sit and chat on one of the many benches nearby. This was the venue chosen by the Heather and Gorse dancers to put on a display of clog morris dancing along with their band of accordians and melodeons.
The dancers kit of blue dresses black waistcoats and dancing clogs attracted the attention of passers by and there was soon a gathering of interested spectators. This was my very first opportunity to play my accordian for Heather and Gorse and it was a magical morning as dancers, musicians and spectators all seemed so friendly - even the sun ...read more here
A memory of Teignmouth contributed by John Howard Norfolk
Sydney Curnow VOSPER
From internet research, it would appear that the Victorian artist Sydney Curnow Vosper, who was born in 1866 at Stonehouse in Plymouth, died at this hotel in Shaldon 10th July 1942.
He painted what became a very famous painting entited 'Salem'. The painting shows the congregation inside a small Baptist chapel in Cefncymerau, Llanbedr, near Harlech, North Wales. The chapel was built in 1850. It would appear that Curnow Vosper often visited the chapel when he holidayed in the area. Because of this painting, Salem is perhaps the most famous place of worship in Wales. The painting has become a Welsh icon.
See
www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/ladylever/collections/salem.asp
A memory of Shaldon contributed by Colin Vosper
Extracts From Holcombe & Devon books
This view was taken from the building at the very end of Morton Crescent. To the immediate left is the Imperial Hotel,
seen in its original architectural design, changed now after the fire in the 1970s.
An extract from from"Exmouth Photographic Memories".
By the middle of the 20th
century we see something
resembling the modern
scene. There is the more
familiar red telephone
box on the traffic island,
a modern post box, and
Belisha beacons to aid
pedestrians wishing to
cross the road. In the
centre of the photograph
is the white tower of the
Pavilion Theatre. Much of
the street furniture was
removed by the start of
the 21st century, leaving
a more traffic-dominated Esplanade.
An extract from from"Exmouth Photographic Memories".
The construction of a substantial
sea wall, seen here in section to the
right, led to Exmouth’s prosperity
as a seaside resort. Before the
wall was built, much of the sea
front was marshland and sand
dunes, and subjected to constant
flooding. The first section of the
wall was completed in 1842, paid
for by the local landowner John
Rolle. It was 1,900 feet long and
constructed from Devon limestone.
The designer was John Smeaton, a
veteran engineer and the designer
of London Bridge.
An extract from from"Exmouth Photographic Memories".
This fine view looks across the
clock tower and Morton Crescent
to the estuary of the River Exe, with
Starcross and the Haldon Hills in
the distance.
An extract from from"Exmouth Photographic Memories".
The wall was designed to deflect the waves that so often come up the English Channel from the south-west on stormy days.
This scene has changed little in fifty years, though now a shelter from the wind stands on the position of the nearest bench
in the photograph. It was donated by local resident William Frederick Stokes in 1964.
An extract from from"Exmouth Photographic Memories".